A new 4-year project is set to expand the work of the Indigenous Data Network at The University of Melbourne to support Indigenous communities to grow their technical capability and resources to manage their own data.
Representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, corporations, organisations and communities across Australia, the Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities project is building and extending the work of national and international frameworks of Indigenous Data Governance and Indigenous Data Sovereignty to collectively strengthen the foundations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data governance, use, accessibility and management principles.
The Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities project was established in 2022 as part of the ARDC’s HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons, which is creating long-term, enduring national digital research infrastructure. In the new phase of the project, the Indigenous Data Network and project partners will continue to build the project to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and researchers at the interface of research data science and Indigenous knowledge systems to have access to effective research data tools. The project will achieve this by working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data custodians, focusing on how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities engage with, and what they aspire to, in the governance of their data.
Professor Marcia Langton AO said, “The need for national digital infrastructure for HASS and Indigenous research data in Australia has never been greater. Therefore, this investment represents the ARDC’s commitment to ambitious infrastructure reforms that will have a national impact on research communities and Indigenous data custodians across all sectors. The continuance of this innovative, transdisciplinary program of work has the potential to locate Australia as the leader of Indigenous Data Governance and Sovereignty application, using novel and progressive approaches to improving Indigenous research capabilities that will inform Indigenous research data custodians internationally.”
Jenny Fewster, Director, ARDC HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons, said, “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Indigenous Data Network to enhance the capacity, skills and capabilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in managing Indigenous data. This project works toward applying appropriate governance of Indigenous data across the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons and empowers Indigenous communities to realise self-determination over their data to support this goal.”
The project is led by the Indigenous Data Network at The University of Melbourne in partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), The Australian National University, QUT, The University of Adelaide, Griffith University, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Empowered Communities, CSIRO, Kimberley Aboriginal Health Research Alliance, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, National Imaging Facility, and KurrawongAI.
The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
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